in amor nois cadite
by Kaist
Summary: Phantom wasn't alone when the Black Mage's curse trapped him in ice. [Scattered Ashes!verse, oneshot.]


"Whatever you say," Freud said, shaking his head with an exasperated smile at the thief. He closed the book- and with it, their discussion. "It's time for me to turn in."

"And I shall be awake until the night fades," Phantom returned, standing with the magician and seeing him to the deck of the Lumiere. He waved flippantly at the man, as if he had not a care in the world. "Go on, go on. I'm sure Mercedes wishes to discuss something or another with you."

Freud's smile froze in its place, while Phantom snickered at him quite uncharitably. Mercedes had a penchant for finding the magician and having long 'talks' with him- mostly involving her scolding him for working far too hard.

When Freud was finally gone and Phantom had sat back down with his glass of wine, he turned inquisitive violet eyes to the shadows of the room. "Now, who might you be?"

The shadows gave no answer, but a girl stepped out- a girl with shocking blue eyes and copper-brown hair down to her shoulders, in a simple farmer's child getup. She opened her mouth, as if to respond, but no words came out, and Phantom noted that he could see the wall behind her through her- and her similarity to Freud. Was she a ghost? A relative of the brown-haired man?

Far be it from him to be frightened of any revenant. It'd be a disservice to his chosen moniker, now wouldn't it? "You can't speak," Phantom deduced when at last she closed her mouth and shook her head helplessly. "Well, it's quite rude to not refer to a beautiful woman by a name. I'll just have to call you Princess."

He hid the grin that overtook his face at her shocked face with a sip of his wine. "If you don't like it, Princess, I can always call you something else-"

She shook her head rapidly, earning a chuckle out of him. "Very well, Princess."

Her face scrunched up into a scowl and she mouthed something at him- he knew it was his name- indignantly. No longer was he able to hold back a smile, one that surprised himself with its genuine warmth.

"You'll stay a while, won't you?" Phantom inquired, and was answered by her shrug. It wasn't a very helpful shrug, and the two stared at each other for a few moments before Phantom decided on a course of action. "I'll tell you a story."

She looked at him incredulously, but he paid no mind as he began another of his long-winded spiels- spiels he was quickly becoming infamous for among his fellow heroes.

* * *

"Princess," Phantom said dully to his ghost as he sat on the very same chair, nursing a cup of peppermint tea. His appearance was unkempt and battered, half-healed cuts standing out against the pale skin of his chest and arms under his torn shirt. "I killed my younger brother tonight."

Lotus was dead.

Freud was missing, along with Afrien.

Who knew what had happened to the other heroes?

He paid no mind to the gentle whisper of her hands on his arms, hardly saw her corporeal form stand over him with worry clear. He was in a world all his own, waiting like a condemned man for the Black Mage's curse to ensnare him. The master thief felt colder already, lethargic like he'd been in El Nath for too long. "I think I did, at least."

She mouthed his name, pain visible in her eyes.

"He killed Aria, you know," he rambled. It was ridiculous to say it again- it only made the pain dig deeper into him, made it eat at his very soul. His ghost knew it all, anyways. Hadn't he told her everything? Hadn't she been with him, all those nights on the Lumiere with little but his regrets? "Aria was everything. I loved her." Of course he'd be after Lotus's head in return. "...I love her. She didn't deserve to die." Not Aria, not beautiful, precious Aria. His radiant, martyred Empress, looking so fragile in death as she lay against Shinsoo-

"Phantom," his ghost whispered, voice choked. Tired violet eyes flickered to her in slight surprise, but Phantom couldn't find it in him to react beyond that. "Oh, Phantom."

"I can hear you, Princess." He paused, fighting back a wave of sleepiness, and continued. "Does that mean I'm dying?" It wasn't such a bad prospect, now. He'd be able to see Aria again.

"No, you're not dying," his ghost said. Transparent tears were rolling down her equally transparent cheeks. He frowned. Had he made a lady cry? That wasn't good. He did prefer a woman with a smile on her face. "Just falling asleep."

"That's synonymous with death," he countered idly, raising a gloved hand to cup her cheek. He could feel ice creeping up his feet. It was very, very cold. "You shouldn't cry over me, Princess." Phantom wasn't worth tears.

"But I am!" she said fiercely, hands clutching at his arms. "You're _not_ dying, Phantom." He felt a bizarre rush of warmth. Who else would do so? Nobody, he was certain. Oh, Mercedes would be unhappy- she might bow her head for a few moments- but it was below a Queen to shed tears. Freud... Freud he couldn't think about. Luminous... ha. Aran- who knew? He couldn't read the warrior, an astonishing feat in and of itself.

"Your voice is even prettier than I thought it was," he said suddenly, eyes drooping as a rush of tiredness clouded his mind and reduced all coherent thought. Even though it was a sad, tired voice... there was just _something _about it, but what? Ah, yes. Familiarity. _Caring. _The ice was making him shiver, the way it steadily climbed up his body, but his mind flashed to her expressions, her smile, her frown, her indignant looks- and he found a little reserve of warmth in his heart, just for her. "And we've known each other all this time..."

"P-Phantom..." She choked out a tearful laugh, and he found himself engulfed in a hug and- the faint scent of lavender. His ghost smelled like lavender. He closed his eyes, leaning his head into her shoulder and not questioning why she could touch him now. He was far too tired for that.

"Say," he asked, voice sounding sleepy even to him, "what's your name?"

"Eve," his ghost said, and he memorized the name, memorized the little catch in the soft voice that she spoke with. "My name is Eve. And you'll meet me. Very soon."

"I've already met you, Princess," he mumbled, shivering a little. "I could never forget you, Eve. Princess Eve."

With that he surrendered himself to unconsciousness, and the gratifying blackness of sleep rushed up to meet him.

* * *

Eve hurried along the path in Ereve with her head down, disregarding Neinheart's disapproving gaze following her back. The first Alliance meeting- the cornerstone- the beginning of the end- had gone off without a hitch, and she had been lucky that her position as Silent Crusade representative had allowed her to keep her silence throughout the whole thing.

The sooner the brown-haired time traveler could escape the center of the Maple World's politics, the better. Her chain of thought was cut off when she ran straight into someone's chest and stumbled backwards, already stammering apologies with a mental shake into her 'innocent girl' act.

"Careful there, Princess," said a smooth voice, helping her up, and she froze. Blue eyes shot up to meet violet.

"Phantom," she said quietly, mask shattering into pieces when his eyes reflected recognition. A wild, desperate hope surged up inside her- but she couldn't be certain. She drew back with bated breath and stared at him guardedly. "You...?"

"Hello, Eve," Phantom said, a small smile finding its way to his face despite all that had happened. "I told you I couldn't forget you."

* * *

**I'm not too inclined to explain this all that much- I rather think it'd ruin what I'd like to leave you readers with. So for background, I shall only say this: this is set from just after the original timeline to the beginning of Eve's first-ever loop. **


End file.
